Friday, December 11, 2015

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity: A disease for the wireless age?

December 11, 2015 // Paul Pickering

Paul Pickering considers the unexplained ailments and diseases that have arisen in different eras and speculates that a widely-held distrust of electromagnetic radiation may be about to go into decline.

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Does every era have a characteristic disease? After all, demonic possession was all the rage in the Middle Ages: these days, not so much. In Victorian times, female hysteria was a common diagnosis. More recently, we've seen a variety of 20th century candidates Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Parental Alienation Syndrome, and the peculiarly French affliction known as jambes lourdes (heavy legs), which can be relieved by drinking lots of tea or walking in the ocean.

For the Internet Age, though, we need a disease more appropriate to an environment of cloud storage, ubiquitous connectivity and election cycles driven by Twitter. The truth is, demonic possession, outside of Hollywood and theCatholic Church, is so old school.

Luckily, a new affliction is gaining traction, electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). This encompasses a variety of ailments supposedly brought on by exposure to non-ionizing electromagnetic fields at levels well below those permitted by international radiation standards. Reported symptoms include headache, fatigue, stress, sleep disturbances, skin symptoms such as prickling or burning sensations and rashes, muscle aches and pains and many other health problems.

EHS is becoming more widespread according to advocacy groupES UK that estimates that 4 percent of the UK population are severely affected by EHS and up to 40 percent are mildly affected. In severe cases, the organization claims, exposure to Wi-Fi or use of a mobile phone up to 40 feet away from a sufferer could a reaction similar to an anaphylactic shock, resulting in a collapse.

Does science allow for the possibility that exposure to low levels of electromagnetic (EM) radiation can cause EHS?

EM radiation can be categorized into two types: high-energy ionizing (e.g., gamma rays, x-rays, and the higher UV parts of the spectrum) and non-ionizing (lower frequencies than UV, including visible light, infrared, microwaves and radio transmissions). The boundary between the types isn't sharply defined, but occurs at a photon energy of between 10eV and 33eV.

For too long the medical community has dismissed 'Chronic Fatigue Syndrome' as a mental illness which can be cured with therapy and exercise

Back in 1955, a mysterious polio-like illness affected 262 doctors and nurses at London’s Royal Free Hospital. The hospital had to close for just over three months.

The outbreak was written up in The Lancet and a new neurological disease entered medical language: myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME, as it still remains in the WHO Classification of Diseases. "Myalgic" referred to the muscle symptoms; "encephalomyelitis" referred to the various neurological symptoms.

"I left medical school believing that ME was not a real disease and I would probably never see a case. I was wrong"

Others were not convinced that MEwas a neurological disease, and two decades later two psychiatrists, without interviewing any of thepatients, wrote a paper for the British Medical Journal where they concluded that the Royal Free outbreak was due to mass hysteria.

The mud from the BMJ stuck. Like most doctors at the time, I left medical school believing that ME was not a real disease and I would probably never see a case. I was wrong.

ME sufferer Nathalie Wright, who has written for the Telegraph about her experience Photo: Connie Bloomfield

Ignored or dismissed by doctors, people with ME went undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for long periods of time, often combined with harmful management advice – as is still the case. I can confirm this after developing classic ME following chickenpox, caught from one of my hospital patients. Some developed severe ME, becoming housebound or bed-bound with no medical help. Some never recovered.

During the 1980s, ME was redefined and given a dreadful new name: chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The term CFS trivialised a serious medical condition – the equivalent of trivialising dementia by calling it a chronic forgetfulness syndrome – and shifted the focus from a "disease" to a single symptom, "chronic fatigue".

CFS also brought in a much wider group of people suffering from chronic undiagnosed fatigue. A powerful body of psychiatric opinion convinced the medical profession that CFS was basically a mental health problem whereby people became trapped in a vicious circle of abnormal illness beliefs and behaviours, inactivity and deconditioning. In other words, there was no "disease" present.

The CFS model of causation resulted in two controversial forms of behavioural management – cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET) – being recommended by NICE as the main form of treatment.

Now we have the PACE trial – the largest and most recent assessment of CBT and GET, which has cost the taxpayer almost £5 million. At long term follow-up, and contrary to what was reported in the press, the PACE trial found no significant difference between CBT, GET, adaptive pacing and specialised medical care.

Public reaction to the spin that has been put on the PACE trial results for CBT and GET has resulted in over 10,000 people signing a petition calling for claims relating to so-called recovery to be retracted and six academic researchers calling for an independent review of the study.

By contrast, in evidence collected from 1,428 people with ME by the MEAssociation, for which I am medical adviser, 73 per cent reported that CBT had no effect on symptoms while 74 per cent said reported that GET had made their condition worse. The MEA has therefore recommended that NICE withdraws their advice relating to GET.

On the progressive side of this medical divide are physicians and researchers who, like the patient community, believe that ME is a serious multi-system disease, often triggered by infection, but maintained by abnormalities involving, neurology, muscle, and the immune system.

In the UK, a research collaborative with a strong emphasis on the biomedical research has been established. And a major report from the prestigious US Institute of Medicine has recently concluded that ME is a "serious, chronic, complex, systemic diseasethat can profoundly affect the lives of patients". ME is not a psychological problem.

Biomedical research into ME is revealing abnormalities in the way that muscle creates energy, along with evidence of an ongoing overactive immune system response. New types of brain imaging are demonstrating low-level inflammation in several specific parts of the brain.

The argument here is not with mental illness, which is just as real and horrible as physical illness. As with any long-term illness, some people will develop mental health problems where talking therapies can clearly be of help.

The argument is with a simplistic and seriously flawed model of causation that patients know is wrong and which has seriously delayed progress in understanding the underlying cause of ME and developing effective forms of treatment.

Opening the 2015 research collaborative section of neuropathology, Jose Montoya, professor of medicine at the University of Stanford, said: “I have a wish and a dream that medical and scientific societies will apologise to theirMEpatients."

I agree – the time has come for doctors and scientists to apologise for the very neglectful way in which ME has been researched and treated over the past 60 years. Doctors need to start listening to theirpatients and there must now be increased investment in biomedical research to gain a better understanding of the disease process and to develop treatments that thesepatients desperately need.

But it would not be restricted to phones and PCs, a tech industry chief told the Commons science and technology committee.

Antony Walker, of techUK, said anything that connected to the internet could "in theory" be hacked into.

In the future, this could include driverless cars or household appliances connected to the internet - the so-called Internet of Things - said Mr Walker.

'Child's bedroom'

He said the Home Office needed to spell out more clearly where it draws the line over what it calls "equipment interference", highlighting recent concerns about "smart toys" that connect to the internet and have microphones and cameras built-in.

"A range of devices that have been in the news recently, in relation to a hack, are children's toys, that children can interact with," he told the committee.

"These are devices that may sit in a child's bedroom but are accessible.

"In theory, the manufacturer of those products could be the subject of a warrant to enable equipment interference with those devices.

"So the potential extent, I think, is something that needs to be carefully considered."

In November, electronic toy company Vtech had its app store database hacked, allegedly resulting in the appearance online of personal data including children's names, dates of birth and gender.

Talking dolls, such as Hello Barbie and My Friend Cayla, have also been put under scrutiny by security experts in recent months.

Barbie manufacturer Mattel reportedly made modifications to Hello Barbie, which allows children to talk to the doll over a cloud server connection, after concerns were raised about cyber attackers potentially stealing data through it.

Terror threat

The police, security services, HM Revenue and Customs and other law enforcement agencies can already hack into devices provided they get a warrant.

This allows them to download the contents of computers or smartphones, track locations, listen to calls, or even switch on microphones and cameras, allowing officers to listen in to conversations or take pictures of those standing nearby.

The Home Office says these powers, the existence of which were revealed earlier this year following a court case, have "made a vital contribution to counter the increased threat to the UK from Islamist terrorism and have also enabled the disruption of paedophile-related crime", according to a Home Office fact sheet.

The draft Investigatory Powers Bill would put "equipment interference" warrants on a firmer legal footing and make sure they are "only used when necessary and proportionate for a legitimate purpose".

A revised bill will be introduced to Parliament in the New Year, following consultation and scrutiny by the industry and other interested parties.

Mr Walker, whose organisation represents 850 UK technology firms, told MPs it needed to be more forward-looking and less vague about the limits of surveillance.

"When we start to think, not just about the world today, but the world in five, 10 years' time as the Internet of Things becomes more real, and more pervasive.

"I think it requires careful thought in terms of where the limits should be."

Wireless Radiation and Human Health Policies: How Reliable is the Evidence?

“In my opinion, the currently available scientific evidence is sufficient to upgrade the carcinogenicity of cell phone radiation from the possible carcinogen (Group 2B) to the probable carcinogen (Group 2A)” Dariusz Leszczynski

Game changers published after the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified radio frequency radiation a possible carcinogen in 2011, strengthening the health risk evidence:

Class Action Lawsuit in Quebec Against Hydro-Quebec, Videotron, Bell, Rogers, Telus and many other defendants

Request for Financial Assistance

Considering the failure of federal, provincial and municipal levels of governement to protect the population against increasingly excessive exposure levels of microwave emissions and low frequency electromagnetic fields from powerlines, amongst other sources, there is an urgent need to establish a clear judiciary basis to claim compensations for the harm done, especially to people with electrosensitivitysymptoms, and to steer the regulatory agencies towards stronger health-centered, as safe as possible exposure standards. A class action lawsuit is the best instrument to achieve this at this stage. Also, in case an out of court settlement is eventually sought by the defendants, this lawsuit, if properly undertaken, executed and supported, would also set a strong bargaining position to obtain satisfactory remedies.

But considering the formidable resources these defendants can muster to maintain the status quo that has so much benefited them so far, it is imperative that as many people as possible from the affected population pool their support to help finance this class action lawsuit. Although no additional details can be provided at this point, as per the regulations governing this form of judiciary action, regarding the specifics of this case, be assured that considerable efforts went into devising the best possible course of action to eventually achieve success, hopefully within a 5 year period once this case is certified and hearings begin.

We know our opponents will throw everything they can at us to prevent this from going ahead, yet we trust that the 1211 concerned citizens from Quebec who signed the mandate* to support Mr Charles O'Brien's effort represent only the tip of the iceberg of the support we can actually receive to help finance the considerable logistical effort required and the detailed scientific demonstration to be done by expert witnesses of the absolute validity of the claims to be submitted to the court, certainly up to the Supreme Court of Canada.

If you believe the time has come to put an end to the political and regulatory laissez faire environment that has been so detrimental to the health and peace of mind of a growing percentage of the population of Quebec, and are willing to provide financial support of any size -all contributions, small or large, will be most welcomed - please use any of the following methods to channel your support to this vital cause.

If you prefer to mail a check, please send it at Recours collectif, P.O. Box 84, St-Sauveur-des-Monts, Qc, J0R 1R0 and make your check payable to PACE inc. (which stands for Planetary Association for Clean Energy - It is a science-based organization, founded in 1975, whose expertise is recognized worldwide).

If you would rather prefer to call PACE to make your donation, you may call their office at (888) 639-7730, preferably during day time (otherwise you will need to leave your contact information on their answering machine so someone may call you back), stating that you call in the context of this request for financial support for the class action led by Mr Charles O'Brien.

A receipt for tax purpose will be provided for donations of 25$ and more. Obviously, no guarantee can be provided as to the likelihood of our success. Yet all donators will be kept informed in priority on the details and evolution of this case as soon we have secured the confirmation that the court has agreed to hear it.

I sincerely thank you for your upcoming support that will be an invaluable contribution to the eventual success of this class action lawsuit from which everyone will then greatly benefit.

NOTE: Except for a very small administrative fee necessary to process and mail your receipt, your donation will go towards exclusively supporting this class action lawsuit. PACE's charitable number is 11925 1379 RR 0001. Please make sure to indicate the name and address of the person or corporation to whom the receipt must be issued.

* To review the initial request of support for the mandate given to Mr Charles O'Brien, click HERE.

A French version of this Request for Financial Assistance is available HERE.

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

This Town Banned Cellphones and Wi-Fi to Better Search for Alien Life

Could Ever wish you live in a small rural town specifically tailored to Supporting the search for alien life, the Jodie Foster's Contact? No? Just me?

Meet the small West Virginian town dubbed "The Quietest Place in America." It contains 13,000 square miles of cellphone-free airwaves and Wi-Fi access restricted. Created in 1958 to protect telescopes from Potentially harmful electromagnetic waves, this area is the US Known As National Radio Quiet and it is Zone- Both the coolest and the eeriest up in the United States.

Almost like a time capsule, the city is home to the Green Bank Telescope Itself, the World's Largest steerable radio telescope, standing 450 feet tall with a surface area of ​​328 by 360 area area area feet (that's two soccer fields). Until 2021, the telescope Will Be biggest ever share of the scientific search for extraterrestrial proof of life, scanning 85 percent of the celestial sphere.

Aside from pioneering the search for remote space activity, the Quietest Place in America est aussi a haven for people who Suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity. If you're a fan of Breaking Bad and Its spin-off, Better Call Saul, you'll Recognize this term from the character Chuck McGill Who claims to Suffer from the condition.

Either way, this small town is a single portal into Simultaneously pre-industrial times and Has potential launchpad into a very advanced future:

Katie Felber is a writer, comedian, rapper and based in Los Angeles by way of the Pleiades star cluster Nearly 444.2 light years away. She first Interned for GOOD back in '07 and made her mark by keeping the office stocked with tons of organic and affordable snacks. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2010 with a BA in Rhetoric and Film Studies, she Spent A torque years in the trenches of Hollywood comedy and reptilian shapeshifters Producing Avoiding at all costs. Her writing has-been featured in Huffington Post, Thought Catalog, several hundred napkins in the Bay Area, and now Recently, GOOD! When she is not pondering the philosophical distribution of space in Yogurtland --other and mainstream food chains, she can be found alone in her room, blasting Thousands of snapchats out to her wide network of virtual friends, or hitting up doctors Were Tinder for free medical advice.

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About Me

While I have always been extremely health conscious and am presently in excellent health, I did become temporarily out-of-commission (i.e. I was really sick) in 2005 with a number of at the time unexplainable symptoms. I was quite puzzled at the time because I had been eating mainly organically grown food, drinking spring water, doing Yoga every morning, and going to the gym several times a week. In other words, I was doing everything one is supposed to do to stay healthy. I was not supposed to get sick. It took me six months before discovering or even imagining the main source of the problem - which was in fact "overexposure to electromagnetic" - especially microwave - radiation. I was living within 200 meters of two cell phone towers at the time and within 500 meters of a 3rd one with numerous WiFi signals bleeding into my apartment from adjacent neighbors. I developed a host of symptoms, which are found in what has been misleadingly described as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) -- but much more accurately described as Radio Wave or Microwave Sickness. Large numbers of people in the USA suddenly started getting sick in 1984...